Denver City Council on Monday approved more than $10.5 million in deals with Live Nation and AEG, the corporate giants that dominate the concert industry.

The commission contracts run through 2022, with an $8.5 million cap for the Anschutz Corporation-owned AEG and a $2 million ceiling for Live Nation. (Anschutz owns the media group that runs Colorado Politics and The Gazette.) The city pays the world’s two largest concert promoters to book live shows at city-run venues, including the Denver Coliseum and Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which are currently closed due to the coronavirus.

The idea is that, in doing so, the city dissuades the promoters from booking elsewhere and increases its own revenues from concessions and ticket sales associated with the large events that get booked in those facilities, said Skye Stuart, legislative director for the mayor’s office.

Council members passed the agreements in an 11-1 vote, but not without first sharing their reluctancy to do so.

“These two individual companies have got a corner on the market, so to speak, and are very difficult to work with,” Councilwoman Robin Kniech said. “But we also have major entertainment venues in the city, like Red Rocks, which we hope will be up and running again.”

“Pretty much all the comments that we’ve received from our constituents have been frustrated with both vendors and their customer service, or lack thereof,” Councilman Chris Hinds said. “Unfortunately, it does sound like these are the only vendors that have the kind of infrastructure and size to support an operation as big as the city of Denver.”

Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca voted against the agreements on grounds that the city should be especially prudent right now in its spending amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I believe that at a time like this, we need to be recalibrating and digging deep into our budget to reallocate dollars more appropriately to meet the needs of this crisis,” she said. “And I do not believe that these entertainment promoter contracts are relevant at this point and should absolutely be something that we’re considering after we’ve had an opportunity to recalibrate.”

AEG and Live Nation had suspended all concert tours until April amid coronavirus fears, according to Rolling Stone, and are recommending the postponement of all large-scale events.